The Road Home by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 39

In spite of the group’s exhaustion, there was little sleep to be had, as November nights in the northern Rockies tend not to be just long but haunting. The silence can be unnerving, but the dark sounds of nature can often be ferocious. When the wind wasn’t howling, the wolves were, singing out their melodramatic songs of solitude. One might think that the melodies of nature would lull one into a deep sleep, but this group was not accustomed to such things and lay in their beds with wide eyes. They knew that the odds of one of these nocturnal beasts breaking into the house were nil. Yet, with imaginations driven by fear, each visualized their own horror staring at them from the foot of their beds with eyes glowing a menacing green -- eager to pounce, eager to feed. Aurora, as skilled as she was in the art of woodsmanship, lay trembling with fear and occasionally quietly weeping. It was at this point that she began to doubt not her skills, but her ability to deal with any circumstances leading to the necessity of their use. By morning, everyone agreed that sleep would come easier during the day when the earth was quietly resting. This would also allow them to search the town for resources under the cover of night. Nevertheless, this, too, carried the risk of being pursued by the feral spirits of twilight searching for an easy meal.

The morning sun found the four friends with weary eyes and exhausted beyond cognition. They sat on the edge of their beds hungry for slumber but knowing there were things that had to be done. Maya was no better off, and trudging down the stairs called everyone down for what she referred to as a ‘family meeting’. This was the last thing anyone wanted, as the night left them without the capacity for attentiveness. Yet, no one resisted and within minutes, everyone found themselves seated in the living room. “I take it no one slept last night?” Maya asked. “How can anyone sleep?” Eli responded. “We’re in an abandoned town in the middle of nowhere in the middle of a fucking plague in someone else’s house, and we’re supposed to be able to sleep? And I swear to Christ this place was surrounded by wolves. I just want to kill every last fucking one of them.”

Jackson, tired as he was, suggested a plan he hoped everyone would agree on.

“What about this?” he began. “What if we slept during the day and during late afternoon went out to search for what we needed and just hung out at night? The wolves aren’t going to get in. What do you think?”

A moment of thoughtful silence hung in the air as his idea was considered.

“That is a brilliant idea, as long as we can stick to a schedule,” Maya began. “We would have to turn in early in the morning, so we can be ready to go by maybe two or three. We can get organized at night and figure out where we’re going to go from here.”

Aurora interrupted. “I thought we were going to stay here.”

“Aurora,” Maya began. “We can’t stay here forever, and there’s only so much food and water in a town this size. We’re going to have to figure out where we’re going next.”

It was clear that Aurora didn’t want to simply pack up and leave. She was brilliantly intelligent and realized how chaotic the world had become since it had fallen victim to a weapon no one thought would be used. In spite of the dread that had overtaken her during the night, she already seemed to be adjusting to being where she was and saw leaving as diving into a house afire. “Well,” Maya continued. “Winter’s here and I do think it would be a bad idea to leave now, but we do need to explore our options for when spring comes around. But the good thing is we can take our time.”

Not wanting to travel in the Rockies during the dead of winter, everyone agreed. Life had changed, and the world was no longer as safe as it once was.